Welcome

Welcome to the POZ/AIDSmeds Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ/AIDSmeds community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

I have been taking Atripla since 8th sep, and did a blood test on monday. The results for the cd4 came back this morning and i wasn't expecting much improvement in the numbers, but i am dissapointed because i wasn't expecting it to go down either. The cd4 went from 198 before i started to 174, the cd% is the same at 31, and the viral load is not back yet - my viral load has been below 1000 since diagnoses.

Granted the numbers takes time to go up, but going down, whats up with that? I haven't missed a dose and have been taking it at around the same time every day. Any thoughts?

cd4 counts can fluctuate like that very easily from test to test. You shouldn't look at a drop of 25 to be any effective change. Your numbers should be read as the same and thus stable. Another indicator, and a better one, is that your % is the same. Bottom line is that you should lose absolutely no sleep over this result.

Thanks Miss P. That % has been over 31 since diagnoses, and i don't want to seem impatient but i am tempted to question my decison for starting meds. I have not had major side effects, but i have noticed constant forgetfulness, and the occasional dizziness is worrisome for me because of the nature of my job and the fact that i am going to school. I will continue taking them though and see what happens next.

Hi Sera. I went back and looked over your previous posts and numbers history - and it seems to me that you might be one of those people who has naturally low CD4 counts. Keep in mind that the low end of the "normal" range is only 500. What's telling is your CD4% - it's always been fantastic and well within the normal range. This is what leads me to believe that you just naturally have low CD4s.

I mean, back in 2010 you were going to take part in an elite controllers study. Elite controllers don't usually take meds when they have such good numbers overall - like a very low VL and an excellent CD4%. I have to wonder why your doctor pushed you so much to take meds when you had such a low VL, a great CD4%, and were feeling well. Here in the UK, I doubt very much that many doctors would have pushed for treatment for you.

One word of caution - it sounds like you're playing with the idea of stopping your meds. If you do, make sure you speak to your doctor first. He may want you to take Truvada on its own for a few days in order to stop you from developing resistance to the Sustiva portion of your Atripla.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Hi Ann, i was very reluctant to start medication for a very long time because of the same reason you referred to of low viral load and a normal %. When i was diagnosed in 2004, my cd4 was 501 and viral load was less than 50, the doctor had to do a second test in two weeks to try and figure out why the the low viral load with no meds. The second viral load test came back at 102. Anyway, i suspect i was infected in 1999 and i don't know what my numbers were between then and 2004 but my first doctor wanted me to start meds in 2005 when my cd4 was 400, with the same high % and less viral load and so i changed Doctors. In 2008, my cd4s started going down and up between 300 and 400, same % or higher and Less viral load and my current Doctor thought it was time to start medication but again i resisted because i wasn't ready.

I did take part in the controllers study conducted by Dr Bruce Walker at Mass General Hospital for more than a year and Dr Walker thought i was a viremic controller and his opinion on my starting meds was the exact same thing you expressed. I wasn't able to continue with the study because of personal reasons. Since then, my cd4s have not improved above 400 and for the last 3 tests they have dipped below 200, with the same % and infact at one time my viral load was below 500. My dr and nurse practitioner were of the opinion i was playing russian roullete with my health so that pressure plus i started to think i should listen to them because they are the professionals helped me decide to start. Also i am anemic and the dr thought it was hiv related and it would get better after i started meds, we'll wait and see on that. The last few years have been very stressful for me because my teenage son was abusing marijuana and i think that stress has contributed to my cd4 drop.

Ann, i am not going to stop taking the meds, i will give Atripla time and see what happens. I will post the viral load numbers when i get them, probably in a week.

My viral load came back today and i am happy to report i am now undetectable. It's really baffling to me how this virus works but i am breathing easier. Now i can continue taking the medication and see whether the cd4s will go up.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts